A bit of an anti-climatic beginning as both teams met on mid but no kills were exchanged. Kayle was given blue buff, while Hellios quickly invaded the red buff leaving Cyanide crippled. Consistent pressure from Blaze resulted in the mid turret of Fnatic falling at the 5th minute mark. However, the amazing synergy between xPeke and sOAZ gave them first blood as Twisted Fate "ulted" top and finished Nidalee. Despite getting the outer bot turret of Fnatic, a kill for YellowStar on Kog was definitely not wanted by the Koreans. A brilliant display defensive presence was showcased by Azubu as Nidalee managed to escape a triple stun situation with the help of the Lulu ultimate. Consequently, the third and final turret of Fnatic fell.

First dragon of the game went to the Koreans as they quickly dispatched the beast and denied the poke from their opponents. This extended their gold lead to 2,5k. A skirmish ensued on mid as xPeke took down Hellios but Cpt. Jack avenged his fallen comrade. As Nidalee was split-pushing top, the circumstances allowed the Koreans to take down the second mid turret of their foes and further extend their gold lead. The relentless split-pushing continued as Azubu took down their sixth turret in a row which tightened the grip around Fnatic even more. However, they decided enough is enough and grabbed two kills after a brilliant initiation by Cyanide. This also resulted in the first dragon of the game for the Europeans who brought down the gold deficit by a little.

With all three lanes pushed, Azubu quickly snatched the Baron and disposed of Cyanide who tried his trademark steal. With the buff under their belts they immediately sieged the inhibitor and took it down. From this point on, all of Fnatic’s initiations were denied as they desperately tried to even the odds by grabbing kills. An inevitable ace followed as Azubu showcased how their tactical dominance can win games.

Winner: Azubu Blaze

Game 2:

Bans:

Azubu Blaze: Lee Sin, Cho’Gath, Kog'Maw

Fnatic: Olaf, Kayle, Twisted Fate

Picks:

Azubu Blaze: Sona, Amumu, Evelyn, Elise, Miss Fortune

Fnatic: Kha'Zix, Nidalee, Shen, Lulu, Caitlyn

The game started rather quietly as both junglers went on their usual routes and no lanes were swapped. Blaze made a couple of ganking attempts but were left empty-handed. The first blood came at the 9th minute as Cpt. Jack’s Miss Fortune managed to eliminate Lulu. An incredible spear by xPeke’s Nidalee managed to equalize the kill score as he caught a low on health Amumu on dragon. Consequently, the mid turret of Blaze was taken down. Minutes later the action was off the charts! xPeke paid a visit to bot ensuring that YellowStar gets his doubekill onto the Korean bot lane duo. Immediately afterwards,the Spaniard played an important role on top where sOAZ took down Elise. Fnatic grabbed a total of 5 kills in less than three minutes! However, Blaze did respond with kills for Amumu and Evelyn which kept the gold even. The Koreans got themselves together, took down dragon and besieged the mid turret. As it fell they spearheaded into the gold lead.

Quick maneuvering by Fnatic allowed them to take down the second mid turret with ease and retake map control. An intense fight on mid turned horrible for Blaze as they lost 4 men and consequently their base mid tower. xPeke and his troops wisely turned to baron Nashor and took his buff to solidify their lead. The siege of the base bot turret turned into an xPeke spear fiesta as he demolished Cpt. Jack twice and eliminated Hellios. 5k gold ahead, Fnatic returned home and purchased everything needed to finish the game as only the top inhibitor was left standing.

The desperation fight by Blaze was initiated a bit sloppy despite getting a kill. What the Koreans did not take into account was the sneaky back door by sOAZ and xPeke. Azubu lost their first game in Katowice and all thanks to the one-man show from xPeke.

Winner: Fnatic

Game 3:

Bans:

Azubu Blaze: Lee Sin, Kha’Zix, Twisted Fate

Fnatic: Olaf, Kayle, Shen

Picks:

Azubu Blaze: Cho’Gath, Nunu, Ryze, Kog’Maw, Nidalee

Fnatic: Caitlyn, Amumu, Evelyn, Kassadin, Blitzcrank

Fnatic took a play from Azubu’s book by stealing the red buff of Hellios. However, the Cho’Gath boldly accepted the exchange and took Cyanide’s red in turn. Top and bot lane were completely switched but no real plays came in the early game. An unfortunate facecheck by nRated cost him the first blood as Hellios was waiting in the same bush. A minute later, a three-man dive top turned wrong for the Koreans as xPeke and nRated assisted YellowStar who was on the brink of death.

A brilliant play by Lustboy denied a kill onto Hellios as Blitzcrank managed to hook the jungler. This resulted in a wasted teleport by xPeke and more farming time for Ambition’s Ryze. Azubu adopted a more passive-aggressive approach towards Fnatic - they poked hard as to ensure that team objectives would not be contested. A nice gank almost went wrong as both xPeke and Cyanide stayed alive by the skin of their teeth after taking down Ambition. Minutes later, a brave four-man dive eliminated Amibtion once again. What is more, the mid tower also was razed once Ryze fell. On the 20th minute mark we witnessed Cyanide’s trademark dragon steal as he snatched the beast right under the Korean’s noses.

An unfavorable exchange for Fnatic near baron gave Kog’Maw a triple kill. YellowStar did pick off Cho’Gath a minute later but Azubu was still in the lead. The back and forth fight did wear off Fnatic. This was wisely used by Azubu who pushed the Europeans back and comfortably took the baron buff. This put the Koreans in the driving seat as they started picking off towers. The power of the late-game Kog’Maw came into full fruition as he played a vital role in later exchanges. Azubu not only contained Fnatic’s aggression but managed to swiftly retaliate. With a precisely executed push they ended the game and are awaiting their new opponents at the final!

My journey into eSports started in 2004 when I accidentally caught a small video on TV from the WarCraft 3 WCG 2004 final. I opened up the SK Gaming website from my father's laptop and never stopped reading to this day. In early 2010 I started writing at a Bulgarian news website simply because I disliked how the current editor was handling his job and with time, I got to be Editor-In-Chief. My main writing interests back then were StarCraft 2, QuakeLive and League of Legends.

Fast-forward to 2012, after a small hiatus and moving to England to attend university, I decided to start writing news posts again, inspired by a couple of industry figures who have taken their turns taking eSports writing to a new level. With the beginning of IPL5, I was given a trial with SK Gaming which was successful and I never looked back.

In early 2014, onGamers presented me with an incredible opportunity to join their ranks which I took. Although I believe my 2014 was rather poor (in terms of work ethic and results), I have made changes during the winter break to ensure that sufficient effort will be made to repair that. Unfortunately, due to the collapse of the team, the project was at a stand still which marked the end of my stint with the oG crew.

I continued producing 1 on 1 interviews with SK members until July 2015. After that, other commitments arose and I figured I could not provide the flow of content I promised my superiors and took a step back, leaving SK.

If you are an eSports fan who is looking to get into writing or simply want to chat about eSports across the years, you can always find me on my twitter - @Adddler . Below you can find some trivia about me.

Pro(s): FORG1VEN, Faker, WeiXiao, NaMei and Mata.
Position: AD Carry
Series: All the World Elite games at IPL5, KT Bullets versus SK Telecom T1 K OGN Summer 2013 Final and LPL Summer Final between StarHorn Royal Club and EDG (The perfect Jinx game by Namei).
League related article: Most of TeamLiquid.net's takes on the 2012 and 2013 OGN tournaments.

Counter-Strike

Pro: f0rest
Team: Fnatic (2008-2009)
Series: AGAiN vs Fnatic at WCG 2009. Literally broke a cup after the game. One of the most emotional series for me as a spectator.